A hidden obstacle here, especially in tech, is the number of companies that built their product just because they could, not because they had a particular motivation or customer pain in mind. So when it's time to get spiky, they don't have any material that really connects with people outside the tiny universe that cares about their tech.
I also find myself reminding entrepreneurs often, "If you're trying to reach everyone, you're reaching no one." The concept of an ICP exists for a reason; you can always expand once you've found a way to connect your product and your comms to a real customer, not a theoretical one.
Another factor pushing corp comms into this spiky era is AI. It requires a new level of explicitness about who you are, what you believe, why you, how it all fits together, etc. No company narrative will survive synthesis with smooth comms, and it’s going to be a real tension and shift internally for many.
I'm reminded of a moment where a comms team suggested the CEO needed "socks leadership" prior to a fireside chat at a prominent conference. Sometimes we get spiky comms, but for the wrong reason, and that reason is because the CEO lacks the personality we admire so much in charismatic leaders who can pull this off for better or worse. I'd add, we have smooth comms in so many orgs because the job is seemingly to do things without being noticed at all, but being able to say things happened. Finally, it's that there are so many companies that wouldn't scratch the surface with the spikiest comms imaginable.
A hidden obstacle here, especially in tech, is the number of companies that built their product just because they could, not because they had a particular motivation or customer pain in mind. So when it's time to get spiky, they don't have any material that really connects with people outside the tiny universe that cares about their tech.
I also find myself reminding entrepreneurs often, "If you're trying to reach everyone, you're reaching no one." The concept of an ICP exists for a reason; you can always expand once you've found a way to connect your product and your comms to a real customer, not a theoretical one.
Another factor pushing corp comms into this spiky era is AI. It requires a new level of explicitness about who you are, what you believe, why you, how it all fits together, etc. No company narrative will survive synthesis with smooth comms, and it’s going to be a real tension and shift internally for many.
I'm reminded of a moment where a comms team suggested the CEO needed "socks leadership" prior to a fireside chat at a prominent conference. Sometimes we get spiky comms, but for the wrong reason, and that reason is because the CEO lacks the personality we admire so much in charismatic leaders who can pull this off for better or worse. I'd add, we have smooth comms in so many orgs because the job is seemingly to do things without being noticed at all, but being able to say things happened. Finally, it's that there are so many companies that wouldn't scratch the surface with the spikiest comms imaginable.